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Topic: All mahogany guitar for country music? |
Dave Stroud
From:
Texas
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Posted 31 Jan 2015 8:24 pm |
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| I don't see alot of solid mahogany guitars used in country music...but maybe I just don't get involved enough. But I need a guitar (mainly for backing tracks for my steel) and I am low on money due to my recent purchase of a new steel. Mahogany guitars are cheaper and seem to have a nice warm sound.... does anyone use them for country? Really, any old dreanought should do... right?? My priority is steelin anyways. |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 31 Jan 2015 9:38 pm
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David, the Guild M- 120 is made of mahagony, but costs around 700 dollars. Not exactly cheap.
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Steve Green
From:
Gulfport, MS, USA
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Posted 1 Feb 2015 4:43 am Guild M120
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There's a nice Guild M120E on Ebay right now with a buy-it-now price of $479. Includes hard case and free shipping. It's been on my "watch list" for a few days, but I can't justify spending the cash right now.
All mahogany guitars are great for accompanying singers who perform in the higher tenor registers, as the warmer, more mellow tone doesn't compete with the vocals the way the way spruce/rosewoood or spruce/maple would. I guess the same concept would apply to steel, also.
BTW, the Guild M120 is all solid - no laminate at all.
CLICK HERE FOR GUILD ON EBAY
_________________
Some songs I've written |
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Dave Stroud
From:
Texas
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Posted 1 Feb 2015 1:32 pm
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I understand that you can find expensive all mahogany guitars- this is true with all types of wood though.
But, if you take the same model of guitar where the only difference is in the type of wood, mahogany is always cheaper.
One example is the Guild D125 (mahogany) at $491.62 vs the Guild D150 (spruce & rosewood) at $659.99 (musiciansfriend.com)
The lowest buy it now price on ebay for the D125 is $469.99 and for the D150 it's $619.99
These two have the exact same specs and are both made with all solid wood, but the price difference is worth lookin at. |
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Rick Schacter
From:
Portland, Or.
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Posted 1 Feb 2015 2:56 pm Re: All mahogany guitar for country music?
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| David Stroud wrote: |
| I don't see alot of solid mahogany guitars used in country music...but maybe I just don't get involved enough. But I need a guitar (mainly for backing tracks for my steel) and I am low on money due to my recent purchase of a new steel. Mahogany guitars are cheaper and seem to have a nice warm sound.... does anyone use them for country? Really, any old dreanought should do... right?? My priority is steelin anyways. |
Have you tried a Taylor GS-Mini?
I absolutely love mine.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=alJaL_o9VYo |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 1 Feb 2015 9:56 pm
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just make sure it honduras mahogany. there are all sorts of mystery asian mahoganys out there. its pretty awful. honduras, cuban, and some african species are the best.
if you are talking about flat top guitars...there are many pics of classic artists playing gibson mahogany flat tops. electrics? les pauls, 335-355 all have some mahogany in them. |
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Robert Tripp
From:
Mesa, Arizona, USA
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 5 Feb 2015 1:01 pm
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| i thought mahogany acoustics were generally a little thinner, brighter sounding. |
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 5 Feb 2015 1:24 pm
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| Chris, I agree, and your description was much politer than "weak." Martin mahogany models (15 and 17 series) make nice living room guitars cuz you won't wake the baby. Kind of like koa tops. |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 6 Feb 2015 9:36 am
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THe forunner of the Guild M-120 was the M-20. Unless there's another guitar used on the the album than shown on the cover, I have to say it sounds great.
Nick Drake's "Bryter Layter.
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 6 Feb 2015 11:46 am
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| Bill Hatcher wrote: |
| ...just make sure it's Honduras mahogany. there are all sorts of mystery Asian mahoganys out there. its pretty awful... |
Guild guitars are currently being made in Korea. I doubt if they ship wood in from South America. Their Korean-made instruments are nothing like as good as the ones made in the U.S.A., which is a shame, because I've always been a satisfied user of Guild guitars. Their 60's 12-string I rate as the best 12-string ever made, and I have nine 12-strings in my collection. |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 6 Feb 2015 12:53 pm
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They never stopped making Guilds in the U.S. along with the cheaper Asian imported versions, though there has been a recent pause and we had a discussion here several months ago about what transpired when Fender closed the Ovation factory last May.
American Guilds had been made in recent years at the East Coast Ovation facility in New Hartford, Connecticut under the guidance of Ren Ferguson, formerly of Gibson Acoustic in Montana. The company was sold in 2014 by Fender, who bought Guild in 1995, to Cordoba Guitars headquartered in Southern California.
I have played some recent Guilds that were made in New Hartford that are superb guitars, there was one of their Orpheum Series in a local shop for which I had a hankerin' and I wish I could have fulfilled my GAS pangs and bought it but the funds aren't there.
I have been favorably impressed with the bang-for-the-buck with the imported Guilds, IMO they are a good value, and the small bodied GAD M-120 is a pretty decent little mahogany guitar.
Eight or nine years ago my son and I attended a local music store event where the Fender western regional mgr. had us compare an American Guild 12-string when they were being built in Washington at the no longer existing Tacoma Guitars factory vs. the same model from Korea. The American guitar was about $1800 and the imported version was $700, and we thought the import was the superior instrument. I was raving about it to a guitar playing buddy the next day, and he ended up driving down to the store and buying the thing. So at least I get to play it every so often.
I don't think of mahogany necessarily as being "thin" in tone. Typically they sound fairly warm to me, and in some cases they have more distinct note articulation which makes them good for solo work and finger picking. Usually not as loud and as bassy as a guitar with a spruce top and rosewood back and sides and because the mahogany top being a hardwood doesn't vibrate as much as softwood spruce.
There was mention earlier of 15 Series Martin guitars and how they are quiet. Granted the 00 and 000 versions might not be all that loud. But the dreadnought D-15 is pretty loud. I have a Custom Shop Martin made of Adirondack spruce and Madagascar rosewood, and no way is the D-15 as loud as this thing, but I've played a number of the 'hog dreads and they definitely are not "shrinking violets" when it comes to volume. It depends on the body size and the bracing pattern and how the braces are shaped, there are plenty of 'hog guitars with good acoustic volume.
Back to Guild, Ren Feguson is back in California and made the move with Guild under the new ownership of Cordoba. Here is a short (3:46) video from MAMM two weeks ago. it starts with some of the electrics, then Ren comes on the screen at about 2:10.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpMVeENJ6bQ&index=2&list=PL5EIrGwlBX1A8Ia6W01HScy-UOon9cPH0
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Mark |
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Steve Green
From:
Gulfport, MS, USA
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Posted 7 Feb 2015 3:54 am
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| Alan Brookes wrote: |
Guild guitars are currently being made in Korea. . . Their 60's 12-string I rate as the best 12-string ever made, and I have nine 12-strings in my collection. |
The Guild M-120E on Ebay that I had referenced a few posts above was "Handcrafted in China"
My boss at The Guitar Shed is also a 12-string guy. We have over a dozen for sale in our store, and he has many more in his "personal" collection, including a 12-string version of this guitar, (all solid mahogany) which is also made in China.
_________________
Some songs I've written |
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Bob Ritter
From:
pacfic, wa
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Posted 7 Feb 2015 9:41 am
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| If the guitar sounds good to you and plays good to you. Then it is a good guitar. |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 7 Feb 2015 9:47 am
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| Steve Green wrote: |
| Alan Brookes wrote: |
Guild guitars are currently being made in Korea. . . Their 60's 12-string I rate as the best 12-string ever made, and I have nine 12-strings in my collection. |
The Guild M-120E on Ebay that I had referenced a few posts above was "Handcrafted in China"
My boss at The Guitar Shed is also a 12-string guy. We have over a dozen for sale in our store, and he has many more in his "personal" collection, including a 12-string version of this guitar, (all solid mahogany) which is also made in China. |
Steve, I think there was a point a number of years ago when the imported models came from Korea, but like so many other guitar companies they have since moved to China. Good values regardless of country of origin.
_________________
Mark |
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Don Griffiths
From:
Steelville, MO
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 22 Feb 2015 12:29 pm
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| Doc, like others including Clarence White and Andy Griffith, liked mahogany backs and sides (Martin sold a few gazillion 18 style guitars.) Mahogany tops are quite a different beast. |
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